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Treatment of autistic children: Relative effectiveness of residential, out-patient and home-based interventions

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Abstract

This study investigates the relative effectiveness of three different treatment approaches on three groups of autistic children. Only theHome-based group showed significant improvements on the behavioral observation measure. Further, the nonresidential groups (Home-based andOutpatient) were the only groups who demonstrated consistent improvements as measured by the Functional Behavior Checklist. Overall, few differences existed, indicating that the effects of the different interventions were comparable. Therefore, for both clinical and economic reasons, nonresidential approaches should be implemented initially with autistic children.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thistletown Regional Centre, TRE-ADD, 51 Panorama Court, M9V 4L8, Rexdale, Ontario, Canada

    Jeff Sherman, Peter Lorimer, Richard Swinson & David C. Factor

  2. Alberta Children's Hospital, Alberta, Canada

    Philip Barker

Authors
  1. Jeff Sherman
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  2. Philip Barker
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  3. Peter Lorimer
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  4. Richard Swinson
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  5. David C. Factor
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Additional information

The authors wish to extend their appreciation to the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation, without whom this study would not have been possible. The authors would also like to thank the following people who helped in this study: Dr. Jalal Shamsie, Dr. Steven Stein, Mary McMillan, Dr. Greg Mazuryk, Dr. Tony LePage, Dr. David Hung, Dr. Leslie Gardner, Heather McPherson, Heather McKiernan, Richard Darjes, Nancy Freeman, Angie Hussein, Dr. Julie Malvesuto, and Chris Gibbons. Finally, we would like to thank all the children, families and staff of House 17 for their cooperation and participation in this study.

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Sherman, J., Barker, P., Lorimer, P. et al. Treatment of autistic children: Relative effectiveness of residential, out-patient and home-based interventions. Child Psych Hum Dev 19, 109–125 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00707358

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00707358

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